Federer opens Wimbledon defence in style

Clarence Walton |Wednesday, July 04, 2018

GETTYRoger Federer and Rafael Nadal have gone to battle in some historic matches

Roger Federer caused a stir when he began his quest for a ninth Wimbledon title with a new logo on his chest but everything else looked familiar as he crushed Dusan Lajovic 6-1 6-3 6-4 in glorious Center Court sunshine on Monday.

The American returns to the tournament for the first time since claiming a seventh title in 2016 having missed previous year to give birth to her daughter. Nadal banked Wimbledon's first £1 million winner's cheque as he secured the second of three successive major titles in 2010. I felt like I was dealing with it really, really nicely, and it gave me great confidence for this year coming back on grass.

"Of course in that moment, that final has been a very important step forward for me in my career", said 17-time major victor Nadal.

"For me, after 30 years always so important to be competitive and to challenge the best players in the world".

US Open champion and fourth seed Sloane Stephens became the tournament's first big name casualty when she slumped to a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Croatia's world 55 Donna Vekic.

Lopez has not missed a Slam since making his debut at the 2002 French Open. "We were on the edge of our seats and it was not easy to follow the penalties and still three matches to go, but we have to take it match by match", he observed, beaming broadly.

Marin Cilic, who is the tournament's third seed, made light work of his first-round encounter against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka wining 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on the opening day.

Serena's fellow tennis-playing mother, Victoria Azarenka, a former world number one and two-time semi-finalist, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russian Federation 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

The 36-year-old revealed his pride at setting the new record, but accepted a fair slice of luck too, in avoiding major injury.

Nick Kyrgios served his way into the second round at Wimbledon as the 15th-seeded Australian fired 42 aces and saved all five break points he faced to beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3.

Heat advisory issued for today
An excessive heat warning remains in effect through late Saturday for Chicago as sweltering summer temperatures stick in the area. This is especially true during warm or hot weather when vehicle interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.

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